Go to page

Go to page

I LUV MY PRIUS!!!

Motivated by a discussion in the Best Android apps thread and my endless search for the perfect homescreen setup, I thought I'd make a thread with homescreens to share ideas and give tips. Describing your homescreens is one thing, but showing them is heaps better, because some things just work beautifully when you see them, but they sound plain boring.

If you have a rooted phone, simply install shootme, start it and shake your phone to take a screenshot to /sdcard/shootme. If your device is not rooted, you can either take this (more complicated) way or take a photo with a camera. Please include some comments on what widgets and apps you use to help other Android users who like them.

left: my collection of folders with all my apps sorted into categories. Currently using smart shortcuts for that, I am right now moving the same idea towards folder organizer to get rid of the labels. I already replaced the icons on the top left with selfmade, half-transparent icons.

main: the SwitchPro Widget with the most important settings at the top with a transparent background. Then there's the widely configurable Android Agenda Widget as a calendar also made mainly transparent. At the bottom above the custom LauncherPro dock there's the digital clock widget, the current local weather (weather forecast widget) with todays temperatures and BattStatt for the battery level. I used to fill the screen with all kinds of shit, and it was interesting, but not beautiful to look at. This is much more up my street - everything I need to know, but discreet at the same time.

right: the google search bar (I don't really use, but I have nothing else for that spot right now) and FeedR with current news about Android & computers, Formula 1 and general news. I'm not really happy with the looks, but FeedR works very very well as an RSS-based news app.

My idea of a homescreen arrangement is a not-too-clogged-up setup with all the important imformation arranged in a beautiful way. I must add that this look was not my idea, it is actually a ripoff of a homescreen I stumbled over on the LauncherPro forum. I kinda liked it and started to make my own icons and dock background, and it turns out that making your own stuff is really easy and a fun way to give your Android phone a personal touch as well as the look you like.

is a big honkin' homo

Left: Used primarily to maintain symmetry because I couldn't handle having two screens. LauncherPro allows you to have up to three launchers that you can swipe side to side for. The one seen here, which is, of course, the one to the left of the main one, holds shortcuts for Engadget,XKCD Viewer, Daily Dilbert, Wordfued, and Tapatalk.

Main: Beautiful Widgets Smaller Home up top, a 2x2 UltraNotes widget, CM Power Bar, and a music widget at the bottom. Main launcher is fairly self-explanatory.

Right: Also mostly for symmetry. I have a SetCPU widget there because on previous builds of CM6 SetCPU wouldn't start at boot without it. I don't know if it's still needed, but I see no reason to remove it. Right launcher has app drawer, Google talk, camera, Root Explorer, and Android System Info.